Ratification of illicit trade pact nears halfway mark

Ratification of the World Health Organisation’s protocol to combat illicit tobacco trade

neared the halfway mark on 18 June when Qatar became the 19th country to sign the pact, according to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

Forty countries must sign the protocol agreed to at last year’s FCTC general session in Seoul, Korea, for it to become international law. The protocol will remain open for signature until 9 Jan, 2014. Countries that have signed the protocol include China, France, Turkey, the Republic of Korea and South Africa. (20 June 2013)